1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an X-ray photo-taking system, X-ray photo-taken image display method, and storage medium for obtaining an X-ray transmission image of an object to be examined and, more particularly, to an X-ray photo-taking system, X-ray photo-taken image display method, and storage medium suited to display an X-ray photo-taken image after photo-taking.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, an X-ray photographing system combining an intensifying screen and a film in an X-ray detection portion has been extensively used as an X-ray photo-taking apparatus for medical diagnostic purposes. In this system, when X-rays transmitted through an object to be examined enter the intensifying screen, a phosphor contained in this intensifying screen absorbs the X-ray energy to emit fluorescence. This fluorescence exposes the X-ray film to form a radiation image as a latent image on the film. This X-ray image is visualized by developing and fixing the film.
To allow easy image reading by a doctor at a later time, not only the X-ray transmission image of the object but also the corresponding patient information, photo-taking direction, and the like are simultaneously imprinted on the film. If a lesion is present in a portion where regions overlap each other, it is not easy to identify the lesion in many instances. If this is the case, judgement is made statistically by taking account of the photo-taking conditions and the age and sex of the patient. Also, in photo-taking of a thoracic (hereinafter, also referred to as xe2x80x9cchestxe2x80x9d) part, many doctors customarily perform image reading by placing an X-ray film in Schaukasten (a film viewing box; a flim viewer) such that the heart of a patient is on the right-hand side of an image. When photo-taking is performed by irradiating an object to be examined with X-rays from behind, the heart is positioned on the left-hand side on a film, so the image must be displayed by reversing it from right to left.
Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 12A, patient information is imprinted as it is laterally inverted, and at the same time a mark (Pxe2x86x92A) indicating the photo-taking direction is printed. When the film is turned over, the mark is reversed from right to left and displayed in the laterally opposite position. Therefore, a doctor can recognize the irradiation direction of X-rays at a glance and can immediately understand the original direction. Furthermore, right and left shoulder joints, wrist joints, and limbs are separately photo-taken, so the side (right or left) and the direction are difficult to distinguish with no marks. That is, an image obtained by irradiating a right shoulder joint with X-rays from the front and an image obtained by photo-taking a left shoulder joint from behind have almost equal outer shapes. This is also true of wrist joints, ankle joints, forearms, upper arms, thighbones, and lower leg bones.
For this reason, marks (Pxe2x86x92A and L) as shown in FIG. 12B are printed on a film. These marks are formed by attaching an X-ray shielding member to an irradiation area and masking X-rays during X-ray irradiation or by optical irradiation to an X-ray through area, where no object image exists, on an X-ray film. The latter method generally uses an LCD or LED as a light source. One prior art is an apparatus for projecting a data image onto a film as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-83731.
Recently, various methods of digitally detecting and generating X-ray images have been developed. One representative method is an X-ray image acquisition method using a flat sensor panel. This method uses a unit combining a solid-state image sensor which is sensitive to X-rays and outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the detected X-ray intensity by converting the detected X-rays, or a phosphor which absorbs the energy of X-rays and emits fluorescence having intensity corresponding to the energy, and an photoelectric conversion element which is sensitive to visible light and converts visible light into an electrical signal corresponding to the intensity of the light. Analog signals from these devices are A/D-converted and input as digital signals.
This digital X-ray photo-taking apparatus comprises a sensor unit for detecting an electrical amount corresponding to an X-ray transmission dose and converting the detected electrical amount into a digital amount, and a controller for this sensor unit. An X-ray photo-taking system is often constructed by combining this digital X-ray photo-taking apparatus with a monitor or printer, for displaying or printing photo-taken images, and an X-ray generator. In this digital X-ray photo-taking system, the sensor unit supplies digital image data to the controller where various image processing operations are performed to form an X-ray image. FIG. 13 shows an example of conventional chast part (backxe2x86x92front) photo-taking.
Image reading by a doctor requires object information such as the ID, name, sex, and age, photo-taking information such as the photo-taking direction, the photo-taking method, and the position of a region, and some image processing parameters. Therefore, to display an X-ray image and some of these data on a film or a monitor, the X-ray image is displayed in an upper portion, and text information such as the object information and the photo-taking information are described below this X-ray image. A doctor interprets this X-ray image. When a display medium of the X-ray image is a film, this film is placed in a film viewing box and interpreted. In this case, a doctor places the film by laterally inverting it so that the heart is seen on the right-hand side. When image reading is performed following this procedure, inverting each film is cumbersome if a large number of films are to be interpreted.
To solve this problem, a radiation image reproducing apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-28145. In this apparatus, if it is determined by referring to the photo-taking direction that a radiation image is photo-taken in an opposite direction to a common observation direction of an object to be examined, the image is laterally inverted and printed on a film. In this case, however, although the film need not be inverted, the photo-taking direction and the photo-taking method cannot be immediately identified in comparison to films photo-taken by the X-ray photographing system. Also, in monitor diagnoses, it is necessary to laterally invert images after photo-taking. Additionally, when the laterally inverted images are again stored, the direction of X-ray irradiation cannot be immediately determined.
Furthermore, when symmetrical regions such as xe2x80x9cshoulder jointsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cwrist jointsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cankle jointsxe2x80x9d. xe2x80x9cforearmsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cupper armsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cthighbonesxe2x80x9d, and xe2x80x9clower leg bonesxe2x80x9d are photo-taken in different directions, it is not easy to display the images in appropriate layout and readily understandable form.
In the prior art as described above, object information and photo-taking parameters are displayed at the same time an X-ray photo-taken image is displayed. However, it is difficult to distinguish between the right and the left and recognize the irradiation direction with only text data. Additionally, when an image is inverted, the direction of an original image cannot be known. When right and left regions are photo-taken, on which side each image is taken cannot be readily understood. Furthermore, images of the same region but in different directions cannot be displayed on the same medium with simple operation.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its first object to provide an X-ray photo-taking system, X-ray photo-taken image display method, and storage medium by which an operator can readily understand the position (right, left, or center) of a photo-taking region of an object to be examined, the X-ray irradiation direction, and the photo-taking attitude only by monitoring an X-ray image, and by which text information is narrowed down to patient information and photo-taking information to make these pieces of information easy to see.
Also, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and has as its second object to provide an X-ray photo-taking system, X-ray photo-taken image display method, and storage medium by which when images of the same region but in different photo-taking directions are to be displayed on the same medium, readily understandable formatting can be performed with simple operation.
One embodiment of the present invention provides an X-ray photo-taking system for acquiring an X-ray photo-taken image by irradiating an object to be examined with X-rays, comprising symbolizing means for symbolizing input information pertaining to X-ray photo-taking of the object, and symbol embedding means for displaying a symbol obtained by the symbolizing means by embedding the symbol in a portion of the X-ray photo-taken image.